Christian Attitudes

Link: http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=5900

Among the Jerusalem Church Leaders who signed an Easter message entitled In the name of God do not boycott the Palestinians is Anglican Bishop Riah Abu el-Assal, a driving force behind the Anglican divestment campaign against Israel.

“It seems nowadays that we face an unknown path or impasse in political life (sic) between the new Israeli government and the new Palestinian government.” What is more, the Church leaders reproach the international community for withholding aid from the Palestinian people. In their view, “it is not permitted to boycott a people on whom oppressions and injustices were and are imposed, while the international community remained so far paralyzed in putting an end to these oppressions, and therefore this paralysis gave birth to violence, terrorism and the humiliation of the human person [sic].”

Reminder: any ‘impasse’ is caused by the refusal of terrorist organization Hamas, voted for by a majority of Palestinians, to recognize Israel’s right to exist, or to give up terrorism. As it says of the Church leaders in the article: They do not however speak directly to the new Palestinian government’s attitude vis-à-vis Israel.

“it is not permitted to boycott a people on whom oppressions and injustices were and are imposed” Sounds like a description of Jews, to me.

Finally, they challenge their fellow Christians: “Ask [. . .] yourselves about the so called ‘Security or Isolating Wall’ and the numerous check points and the crushed dignity of the human being in the land of the Redemption and love?”

“The Security of Isolating Wall”? Do they mean the security barrier which increases safety so that this year the Holy Land is Seeing Most Pilgrims Since 2000?

There's a veritable "boom of pilgrims in the Holy Land," in the days before Easter, says a director of a Church-related office.

This "will be the most crowded Easter since the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000," Father Athanasius Macora, director of the Franciscan Pilgrims Office, told the Italian episcopate's SIR news agency.

25,000 pilgrims in Jerusalem at the moment, with more expected around Easter, and "according to the Franciscan, hotels are fully booked and many pilgrims are staying in Bethlehem". But Bethlehem is supposed to be a prison, cut off by the ‘wall’ – why are so many visitors staying there?

"Pilgrims are attracted to the Holy Land not just by the Easter season," he said, but "also by some stability in terms of security.